Month: April 2015

Last month we introduced the new concept of the Tomica TsumTsum line. The cute cars are now available in Japan and it’s time to take a better look.

The design of the box is similar to the Disney Motors.

The base Tsum models are all identical in shape while the Tsum Top models have unique features like ears or accessories. They are also numbered while the base Tsum models are not.

Stacking them is surprizingly easy. The wheels fit perfectly into the tiny slots on the base Tsums, and it’s even possible to push just one car at the bottom to move the whole pyramid.

Now how high is it possible to stack the Tsums? On a pyramidal shape it must be possible to stack many of them to reach impressive heights. On a column it is more tricky. The maximum we could stack without problem is 4. And it’s not much steady. With patience and skills it is probably possible to add one more.

All in all, this TsumTsum line is very well executed. The cars are cute, the staking works great, and despite the fact that the base Tsums all come in the same shape they still all look different. The Tsum Tops will certainly be the favorites.

The Wave 2 is scheduled for September 2015. It will introduce Minnie and Pooh bear Tsum Tops and a whole bunch of base Tsums including Mickey, Dale, Buzz, Alien and Stitch.

Something unusual happened this month. The Daihatsu Copen was not only released in two different colors, but two different versions !

As you can see from the pictures, the silver regular edition is the Copen Robe while the kaki limited edition is the Copen XPLAY.

After the Hamburger car from last year, another fast-food related Tomica with the Isuzu Giga Fried Potato car.

Many new Disney Motors models : the DreamStar Elsa features a clear roof, the Poppins Anna have fluorescent pink windows, the Popuet Cinderella wears clear wheels and the gloss metallic paint on the second version of the Worm’n Baymax gives it a robotic look.

Discretely revealed last January at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2015, the Tomica Premium line quickly excited collector’s curiosity, and at the same time raised many questions. Resurrection of the Tomica Limited? Actually not. Today the first wave of Tomica Premium has been released and shows something quite unique.

First obvious difference with other Tomica Lines is that the Tomica Premium includes cars as well as trucks, tanks and space vehicles. TakaraTomy stated that they plan to explore many different subjects, and planes, boats or even monuments could be added to the line in the future.

The box is the usual medium size from Tomica (same as TLV or Dream Tomica) with a simple but effective design. The black background stands out against the traditional white Tomica boxes.

It is important to make clear that the wheels are full plastic. No rubber tires like on the early prototypes (or that’s a very hard rubber…). Now that this is out of the way, let’s take a closer look at each of them.

The cleverly labeled #01 is the star of this first wave for various reasons : it’s a Skyline GT-R, it has opening parts and it looks very cool.

Nothing wrong with this one, the tampos are precise and well applied, the clear front lights are well done, the red seats make a nice contrast with the silver body. The opening doors and suspensions work just like you would expect from Tomica. Not much attention went into the steering wheel/dashboard unfortunately, but again this is not Kyosho or Oversteer.

Let’s continue with the cars and the #04. This replica of the RX-7 by RE Amemiya is certainly the best FD3S ever released by Tomica.

Just like the GT-R, everything is well executed and the overall looks very good. Lots of sharp tampos, painted seats, smooth suspensions. No opening parts on this one though.

Last car of the first wave, the #05 Lotus Europa is charming.

Quite detailed for a Tomica and once again the tampos are impressive. The gold lines are perfectly applied and the “Lotus” letters at the rear are incredibly tiny. The glossy paint used on the side and rear lights gives the impression that they are made of clear plastic. No opening parts but working suspensions.

Now onto the big boy. The #02 Morita Wildfire Truck.

I love the see-through parts on this models. Not only there are many, on the side and the rear, but what you can see through those clear plastic parts is very well sculpted and painted. I wish the cockpit would have been that detailled. No opening parts and no suspensions.

The #03 Type 90 Tank is, well, a tank.

I’m not an expert in military models but the turret turns 360 degrees and the cannon can move up or down for great play value. I noticed that there is no wheels, just a continuous track like on the real thing. The motion is convincing on a flat surface but I remember playing with a similar toy when I was a kid and the tracks desintegrated very quickly so I would not push this tank too much.

The #06 JAXA Hayabusa didn’t arrived yet and will be added there later.

All in all, the Tomica Premium line is satisfying. They are better made than the regular Tomica, with a higher attention to details, precise painting and much more tampos. But they also cost twice as much.